


What happens in Vegas...

by NaganSavior



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Alternate Universe - The Hangover (Movies) Fusion, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Confused Rick Grimes, Fluff, Humor, Las Vegas, M/M, Negan Being Negan (Walking Dead)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:26:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 13,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24842260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaganSavior/pseuds/NaganSavior
Summary: Rick and Michonne have decided to tie the knot. The wedding is in 48 hours. Negan has planned a trip to Las Vegas with Rick and Daryl, to celebrate. They will be back in time for the wedding...what could possibly go wrong, right?[Hangover A.U.]
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Negan, Daryl Dixon/Rick Grimes, Rick Grimes/Michonne, Rick Grimes/Negan
Comments: 61
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

_48 hours before the wedding_

"I love you so much Michonne" said Rick as he kissed her sweetly. 

"Love you too Grimes" said she as she kissed him back. She pulled back a bit and rested her head against Rick's as she sighed "it's just I don't trust Negan's ideas. I mean...Vegas?" she questioned. 

"He wants me to have a sort of bachelor party" Rick said although he didn't feel that comfortable either to put so many miles between him and Michonne so close to their wedding day. He needed it to be perfect for her and as she had dreamt it. "We will be gone and back before you know it" he tried to comfort her. 

"Fine" she told him eventually "I except you here on our wedding day though, looking your most handsome ok?" 

"Ok" Rick laughed as the doorbell rang. 

He went to open and it was Daryl with a suitcase by his side. 

"Hey!" he greeted them with a big smile "how are my favourite pre weds in the whole world?"

Rick poked him in the shoulder as Michonne chuckled. 

"We are discussing about your Vegas trip" she told him as she raised her eyebrow. 

Daryl scratched the back of his head awkwardly. 

"Yeah well... You know Negan. When he puts something in his mind, there is no changing it"

"No sexy dancers and no poker, ok?" she told them as she crossed her arms in front of her. 

"Of course not Michonne" said Rick as he would never do that to Michonne "we will spend two nights and back for our wedding. Nothing crazy"

"Yes I agree" said Daryl "just to see how Vegas is, it's enough. If Negan wants to see half naked girls, he can go on his own"

"Ok" said Michonne "go now or you will miss your flight. Have fun"

Rick hugged her tightly as he felt bad for leaving her all alone. 

"I will miss you every moment" he told her. 

"Same" said Michonne feeling emotional "but I want you to have fun"

"We will speak every day" Rick told her as he grabbed his suitcase as well. 

"Take care of him Daryl" said Michonne as she watched them load the car. 

"I will Michonne. Don't worry, in two days you will have him at your wedding" he said as he winked at her. 

"I am counting on you" she smiled at them as she bid them goodbye. 

Rick started driving to the airport with Daryl sitting at the passengers side. 

"I have a bad feeling about this trip" he told him as he sighed. 

"It will be ok Rick ,relax" Daryl tried to comfort him "you have me by your side. We won't do any of the things that Negan has planned. We are two and he is one ,which makes him outnumbered" said Daryl as he chuckled.

"Yeah I bet you are right" said Rick as he tried to calm his nerves. 

\---  
"Are you excited about your bachelor party slash trip" asked Negan as he grinned at him. 

"Ermm you could say that..." drawled Rick unsure as they waited in line to board on the airplane. 

"He misses Michonne already" intervened Daryl. 

"Aww young love" said Negan mockingly. Rick turned scarlet at that. Daryl and Negan may be older than him but not that much. 

"It's adorable when you get all embarrassed" Negan exclaimed as he made some other passengers look at them. 

Rick hid his face with his hands. 

"Move on ,you freak" Rick told him as his face had turned red. 

Negan chuckled loudly as they entered the plane. 

\---  
"Is that our hotel?!" Rick and Daryl said at the same time as they looked at the huge luxurious building in front of them. 

Negan let out a laugh at their reaction. 

"Where did you think I would book? At a cottage house?" he joked. 

"Well no..." drawled Rick "but I didn't expect THAT"

"One time you are a bachelor, you should have fun" he said as he motioned them to get in. 

"That is huge!" said Daryl as he took in their apartment. He had never stayed to something so luxurious before. 

"Told ya" Negan replied as he watched the view to Vegas from their balcony. 

Rick dropped himself to the couch to relax. 

"We are gonna have so much fun! " told them Negan excitedly. 

\---

"To Rick and Michonne" tossed Negan as they were at the hotel's rooftop pool and they had each grabbed a drink. It was a beautiful night and the atmosphere with Vegas lights around the hotel was amazing. 

"Love ya buddy" said Daryl as he tossed as well "I am glad to see you happy"

"Thank you guys" Rick told them with a smile "I'm glad to have you two as well"

"To a night we will never forget" told them Negan with a huge smirk. 

"Cheers" said Rick and Daryl as they clinked their glasses together.


	2. Chapter 2

_24 hours before the wedding_

"Ugh my head" muttered Daryl as he opened his eyes. 

His head was hurting and he was feeling dizzy. He looked around him and their spotless apartment was now a mess. There were many drinks around and many more spilled on the floor. He was laying on the floor as well with the bed's cover on top of him. He closed his eyes again, maybe he was still dreaming. Soon he would wake up and they would go to have a wonderful breakfast and enjoy their luxurious apartment. He hummed happily at the thought, trying to ignore the pain he was feeling. It was just part of his dreams. 

Negan groaned and woke up. He had an urgent want to pee. His head was killing him and he had apparently fallen asleep to the couch. He stumbled to his feet and realised he was only with his boxers on. Maybe it was too hot at night, he thought. He went to the bathroom not paying attention to anything around him. He pulled down the boxers and he sighed as he could finally relieve himself. 

Suddenly he heard a growl behind him. It had to be in his imagination, he was all alone in the bathroom. The growl repeated more loudly. Negan turned his head and screamed loudly. Just some meters away from him was a big tiger who was looking at him like it had just found its next snack. 

Negan pulled the boxers up fast and ran to the door grabbing the key before exiting. The tiger ran after him and he managed last minute to close the door in its face and lock. He rested his head against the door and he sighed. He had almost become meal for a god damn tiger. 

"Daryl" he said loudly as he started looking for him. 

"Mmm" groaned Daryl sleepily "go away Negan. It's too early"

Negan spotted Daryl sleeping on the floor and he finally got to see the mess all around them. 

"What the hell happened last night?" he muttered to himself. 

"Daryl you need to wake up now" Negan told him urgently. 

"Hmm I'm sleepy Negan and my head is hurting" he moaned tiredly. 

Negan looked at him more closely and he saw that Daryl's eye was black like someone had punched him. 

"Who the hell hit you?!" he told him. 

"What do you mean?" Daryl said as he finally opened his eyes. 

Negan saw his phone by the table and grabbed it. He opened the camera and showed him his face. 

"Look" he said. 

"What the..-" Daryl told him as he grabbed the phone from his hands. His eye had turned to a shade of black like someone had punched him right square in the face. 

The tiger growled louder as the door got scratched. 

Daryl froze in his place. 

"Tell me I didn't just hear a growl?" he asked him. 

"You did cause there is a damn tiger in the bathroom!" said Negan exasperated. 

"What happened to us? Did someone roofy us?" Daryl questioned as he looked at the mess that wasn't part of his dream after all. 

Negan dropped himself to the mess of a couch and sighed. 

"I really don't know. Can't remember anything. Look ehh-let's go for breakfast. It will do us good. Wake up Rick and let's get out of here" said Negan as he started searching for his clothes. 

Daryl stumbled to his feet and started looking for Rick. He checked every single room of their apartment and he was nowhere to be seen. 

Negan finally managed to find his clothes and got dressed up. 

"Negan, Rick is not here" he told him worried. 

"He may went for breakfast already" said Negan "let's call him up to see where he is"

He picked up his phone and started dialing Rick's number. When he called a phone started ringing in their apartment. 

Daryl followed the sound of the ringing and he saw the phone on a bed. 

He picked it up. 

"Hello...?" Daryl said hesitantly. 

Negan went where Daryl was and he saw him holding Rick's phone. 

"Yeah it's room service" mocked him Negan on his side of the phone. 

"Oh sorry, we are not interested" said Daryl awkwardly. 

"Daryl what are you doing?" asked Negan stopping the joke. 

Daryl looked at Rick's phone and sighed. 

"Oh yeah right, don't know... He has left his phone here" he told him to hide his embarrassment. 

Suddenly they heard a loud cry which made Negan and Daryl freeze. 

"Tell me that you didn't hear that as well?" said Negan. 

Out of the bed appeared a baby girl with blonde hair who was crying. 

Negan and Daryl looked at each other as Negan hurried to take her in his arms. 

"Hey sweetie, don't cry" said he as he tried to comfort her. 

"Who's baby is that??" asked Daryl as they both frowned. 

They didn't remember anything of last night.


	3. Chapter 3

Negan approached the hotel's reception with the baby in his arms who thankfully had calmed down. 

"Hey" he said with a smirk to a blonde receptionist who smiled at him as well. 

"What can I do for you?" she asked politely. 

"They've lost our suitcases at the airport and I have no way to carry my baby girl. Does your hotel happen to offer a baby carrier by any chance?" he said trying to be as charming as possible. 

\---  
"Great now you can carry the baby better" told him Daryl exasperated as now the baby was strapped on Negan's chest. 

"What do you want me to do Daryl? Carry the baby in my arms all day long?" Negan said as he looked down at the baby. 

"No to find her mother would be the best" answered Daryl frustrated as they walked to the dining hall. 

He was hoping to see Rick having breakfast but he was nowhere to be seen. 

They grabbed some food and coffee and sat down. 

"Ok" said Negan as he took a croissant from his plate "what's the last thing you remember?"

"Ermm-" Daryl thought "the rooftop where we tossed. After that is like everything is blank"

Negan felt a paper in his jeans front pocket. He pulled it out. It was from a Harrison Memorial Hospital here in Vegas, it was an admission paper. 

"What the hell is that?" Negan said as he showed it to Daryl. 

Daryl's eyes widened. 

"Negan, Rick could be at the hospital right now!" Daryl exclaimed very worried. Michonne would kill them if Rick got hurt one day before their wedding. 

"Let's search our pockets" Negan told him "there may be more evidence of what we did last night"

Daryl searched his pockets and pulled out several coins as he tossed them to the table. He also found a receipt. It was from a place called "Alexandria Casino".

" Here it says I lost 500 dollars playing poker!" Daryl told him as he looked at it shocked. So much for not playing poker. Not only did he play, but he lost also. 

Daryl hid his face in his hands. 

"Man what the hell did we do last night?" he questioned "most importantly where is Rick?"

"I have no idea" said Negan frustrated "we are going to find him though" he continued as he looked at the paper from the hospital. 

\---  
"Oh yeah" told them a person called Dr Carson "I remember you three from last night"

"So we were three?" questioned Daryl. That meant that Rick was still with them by then. 

"Yeah" he said "You two and another guy, he was younger than you. The baby was definitely not with you though" he told them as he looked at the baby. 

"Yes that's our guy" told him Daryl. 

"Hmm was he called Rick Grimes?" 

"Yes that is his name" nodded Negan. "Was he ok?"

"Yeah he was fine, just whacked out of his mind. You all were" he told them pointedly. 

Negan and Daryl looked at each other. 

"Guys I really got to go" told them Dr Carson "I have surgery up on the fourth floor"

Negan stood up in a hurry. 

"Yeah I know, we just need a couple more minutes of your time" said Negan pleadingly. 

Dr Carson looked at them and he sighed. 

"Walk with me" he said eventually. 

He pulled out a folder as they walked. 

"Ok here we go" he told them "patient's name Rick Grimes, 2:45 a.m. arrival , minor concussion and some bruising..." he continued as he looked at the papers. 

"This is interesting" he said to them "your blood work came in this morning wow. They found a large amount of Rohypnol in your system"

"Rohy what-?" said Daryl confused. 

"Rohypnol" explained Dr Carson "commonly known as the date rape drug" he told them. 

"W-what?!" said Negan "what are you saying is that I was raped last night?"

"Actually..." he told him as he looked at the papers again "I don't think so. But someone did slip you the drug. I'm not surprised you don't remember anything"

"Yeah how could someone have drugged all of us?" asked Daryl. 

"Look I wouldn't worry about it guys. By now the stuff's out of your system. You will be fine" he said to them. "I have to go"

"Just please doc" said Daryl to prevent him from leaving "is there anything else you can tell us? What we were talking about or where we would be going later...?"

"Hmm" he said to them "actually there was something. Yeah you kept talking about some wedding last night"

"Yeah no shit" said Negan "our buddy Rick is getting married tomorrow"

"No, no" said the doctor as he shook his head negatively "you were talking about a wedding you just came from. It was at a chapel called the "Sanctuary", you kept talking about how dope it was"

Negan pulled out his phone to note it down. 

"That "Sanctuary" chapel ,you know where it is?" he told him. 

"Yeah I do" said Dr Carson "it's at the corner of get a map and fuck off" 

Negan and Daryl looked at him. 

"I'm a doctor. Not a tour guide. Figure it out yourselves, ok? You are big boys"

Negan and Daryl watched him dumbfounded as he left.


	4. Chapter 4

"I hate you" said Daryl as they left from the hospital. 

"Don't say hurtful things in front of the baby" said Negan as he looked at the baby who was still very calm. He didn't know how he would deal if she was screaming and crying. 

"I'm saying the truth" told him Daryl exasperated "poor Rick is probably laying dead somewhere" he cried out. 

"Don't be ridiculous" answered Negan as he glared at him. 

"Rick didn't want to come in the first place!" Daryl spat at him "should have listened to him, instead of you and your stupid ideas"

"You want us to have a fight with the baby present?!" Negan told him in anger like they were married or something. 

Daryl rolled his eyes when suddenly he heard a phone ringing. 

He pulled it out and it was Rick's. 

He gave a look at Negan before he answered it hesitantly. 

"Rick baby, you didn't call me yesterday-" said Michonne from the other side of the line. 

Daryl paled when he heard her voice. They were very screwed. 

"Erm Michonne, it's me Daryl" he told her trying to keep his calm. 

"Oh-" said Michonne "what happened Daryl? Why didn't Rick call me yesterday to tell me you arrived ok?"

"Yeah you are right. We are terribly sorry. The flight was a bit tiring with crying kids all the time... You understand"

"Ah ok...why are you answering Rick's phone?" she said suspiciously. 

"Heh no -I don't normally answer his phone" Daryl let out an awkward chuckle "it's just that we are at the hotel's swimming pool and he told me that if someone calls to answer it instead of him. In fact he says to tell you that he misses you from the water ,as we speak. Do you want me to throw him the phone?" said Daryl as he faked seeing Rick to make the act believable. 

Negan facepalmed himself seeing what Daryl was doing. 

"Ermm no" drawled Michonne "don't do something like throwing the phone in the water. It's fine, let him relax. Tell him that I miss him too"

"Yes of course, I'll pass it on" said Daryl, eager to end their call. 

"Ok Daryl, have fun" told him Michonne "I will see you tomorrow for the wedding"

"Sure...can't wait" answered Daryl as he tried to sound happy. If only she knew that the groom was missing. 

"Great act" said Negan sarcastically as soon as he ended the call "I want to see your face when you will be trying to explain that Rick has gone missing"

"I bought us time, you should be thanking me" said Daryl annoyed. 

"Yeah by telling lies..." drawled Negan. 

"She knows how to wield a Katana you know. I don't want my throat sliced, thank you very much"

"Maybe we should go to the police" Negan told him as he couldn't see another solution "to tell them that he has gone missing"

"Hmm great idea" said Daryl "the news tomorrow will be saying that a man vanished one day before his wedding in Las Vegas. Then Michonne will see it and we will be dead"

Negan sighed as he dropped himself to a bench and hugged the baby. 

"What hour does the receipt of the casino is saying?" Negan questioned. 

Daryl pulled the receipt and looked at it. 

"It says 12 a. m." he told him. 

"So we first went there, then to the chapel and then at the hospital. We should go from the casino. We have to gather as much information as possible in order to track Rick down" said Negan as he stood up. "Let's go you prick" he told him as he smirked. 

"I hate you sooo much" groaned Daryl annoyed. 

"You really don't" said Negan as he laughed. 

"Tell that to Rick's funeral" Daryl answered bitterly. 

"Bite your tongue" told him Negan exasperated. He was sure that Rick would be found and that he would be ok.


	5. Chapter 5

"Whoa! This is huge" said Daryl as they entered the Alexandria Casino. "No wonder I wanted to try things out"

Everywhere you could look there was a different game you could play. 

"Yeah and then you were mad at me for wanting to come to Las Vegas" answered Negan as he raised his eyebrow at Daryl "we are not here to play again though, focus"

Daryl sighed as he really wanted to play some games. But they did have a job and they had a complete stranger's baby also. 

"Let's find where the poker is" Daryl told him. He really wished someone could explain to them what exactly happened last night. 

They walked around and finally they found the poker area and noone was playing right now due to the early hour. 

"Can't believe you would dare to come back here" said someone behind them in an aggressive tone. Both Negan and Daryl turned around and saw a guy with short brown hair looking at them with hatred. 

"Who the hell are you?" questioned Negan as he got ready to protect the baby if needed. This guy yelled "trouble" about him. 

"You don't remember Daryl?" the guy questioned as he smiled in a very evil way. 

Daryl gave a look at Negan and tried to remember if he knew that guy, but he didn't. 

"No I don't, why should I?" he questioned. 

"My name is Gareth and you stole 10.000 dollars from me and my buddies last night" he said threateningly. 

"You have to be kidding" intervened Negan "Daryl lost money here last night, he didn't steal from you"

"Oh but he did. Right after he lost in fact" he said menacingly as he approached Daryl "you may look very yummy but I like my money more" said he as he came inches in front of Daryl's face and licked his lips like he was seriously considering eating him. 

"Go away Gareth!" ordered someone behind them "you and your buddies are banned from the casino" 

Negan and Daryl looked behind their backs and saw a black guy with dreadlocks looking at Gareth in a way that beared no arguments. 

Gareth chuckled and looked at Daryl again making a bite sound very close to his face. 

"You and me are not over. You will pay for what you did and we will take our money back" he chuckled evily as he turned his back and left. 

Something seemed seriously off about this guy. The way he talked and acted was like he could be a cannibal or something, Daryl thought. 

Negan sighed as that guy looked like he could certainly hurt them if that other man hadn't intervened. 

"So you are back" said the man with the dreadlocks "I should have banned you as well but you're definitely not like Gareth ,so I'll let it pass"

Daryl had no idea how everyone seemed to recognize them and they didn't. 

"Ermm thank you for interfering and throwing that guy out of here but who the hell are you?" drawled Daryl confused. 

"My name is king Ezekiel and this is my casino. You almost ruined it last night. I mean throwing punches with the Terminus gang-" he looked at him pointedly "this takes some cojones"

"Look we really don't remember anything from last night" said Negan "could you tell us at least if there was another guy with us?" he asked. 

"Of course there was" said Ezekiel exasperated "these two dared to fight the Terminus gang. Not many have done that before"

At least that explained how Rick got bruised and had a concussion. Also him getting a black eye. 

"Ok thank you.." drawled Daryl ,eager to leave. 

"Not so fast" said Ezekiel. 

"You and the other guy- Rick was his name I believe - stole something from me"

Negan let out a sigh. How many things had Daryl stolen? 

"What could we possibly have stolen from you?!" demanded Daryl. 

"My Shiva" he told them. 

"Your what...?" questioned Negan. They didn't know anyone by that name. 

"My tiger" explained Ezekiel as his patience was running thin "you are gonna bring my girl back at my villa by night or else there will be consequences" 

Negan and Daryl paled at that. So that's where the tiger came from.


	6. Chapter 6

"Remind me why I'm friends with someone like you?" asked Negan annoyed. 

"I'm wondering the same thing every single day about you" answered Daryl as he scoffed. What they had found out wasn't enough, Negan wanted to get on his nerves as well. 

"Just so you know, you will be returning the tiger on your own" said Negan although deep down he knew that he would be forced to help. 

"Oh shut up" answered Daryl as he groaned. The baby started crying and Negan shot him a murderous glare. 

"He didn't mean it sweetie" he said as he tried to soothe her "We hate that meanie right?"

The baby hummed in agreement as she grabbed Negan's white T-shirt. 

Daryl rolled his eyes. 

"Can we please find that chapel so we can return the baby as soon as possible to her mother?" asked Negan. 

"Fine" Daryl said "let me search Google to see where it is" as he pulled out his smartphone. 

"Here it says that it's five minutes walk from here" he told him. 

"Great, let's go" said Negan "soon you will be with your mom kiddo"

"Don't jump to conclusions" told him Daryl as he didn't want to get his hopes high just yet. Rick was still missing, at least to find that baby's mother so they wouldn't get sued with kidnapping a baby. Because for Rick they would most likely have to pay for his disappearance. 

\---  
"So that is that chapel called " The Sanctuary" said Daryl. Outside of it, there was a car with cans in the back and it was saying "just married".

They got in and it seemed like noone was there. 

"Hello?" asked Negan "is anybody here?"

"Good to see you again" said a voice behind them. Daryl and Negan turned around and saw a black guy that was dressed up as a priest.

"Ermm who are you?" asked Negan.

"If only you were that polite when we first met yesterday" sighed the man "you told me that I look "creepy as shit" 

"Well you do" answered Negan with a smirk "but we seriously don't remember anything of last night. So what's your name?"

"I am father Gabriel and I would expect you to remember me since I was the one that married you Negan" he told him. 

Daryl almost fell to the ground laughing at that ,while Negan lost his color. What the hell did he mean that he got married? 

"Ha ha ha!" said Daryl as he laughed uncontrollably "I'll have you in hand from now and on, you dare to lecture me when you don't even remember getting married"

Negan shot him a dangerous glare as he looked at Gabriel. 

"I don't recall getting married to anyone" he told him as he frowned. 

"Erm let me show you" Gabriel said confused. Daryl had tears in his eyes from laughter. 

Gabriel opened a book with photographs and showed them to Negan. Daryl and Rick were smiling at the camera as he was kissing a much younger woman with brown hair. He obviously must have lost his mind.

"I need it to get cancelled" he said immediately as he felt very uncomfortable by the pictures. 

"Relax" told him Gabriel "it's not like it's legally binding, although you did ask for a lot merchandise"

"Merchandise of what thing?" Negan demanded. 

Gabriel pulled out three boxes that were full of his face and that woman's face at T-Shirts, hats, even mugs! 

Daryl took one and looked at it. 

"I'll drink from this every single day" he said as he started laughing hysterically once again. 

Negan grabbed it from his hands and he put it back. 

"I don't want any of this. Just the wedding to get cancelled" he told Gabriel. 

"Ok..." said he a bit disappointed "we have never had such short weddings though. I mean yours lasted for some hours only..."

Negan shot him a glare. 

"I'm fine with my divorce, don't worry. Now can you tell us where my "wife" is? We think that this baby may be hers"

"Hmm let me look at the registration book" Gabriel told him "yeah she is here, Sherry is her name or also known as "Honey", she lives in a hostel currently, I can tell you which one"

"Yes" said Negan as he nodded "that would be for the best"


	7. Chapter 7

"I will talk about your wedding every single day" said Daryl as he was still laughing. 

"You are very certain that you will get to live in order to talk about it" said Negan pointedly, as they walked to find that woman's room. "This is it, room 302"

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. 

They heard talks inside as someone hurried to open. 

"I'm losing my mind Amber" they heard that woman saying as she was talking to the phone and had tears in her eyes "don't know where my baby is-"

She opened the door and looked at them as her eyes widened happily when she saw her baby. 

"I'll call you back" she said as she hang up. 

"Her dad brought her back, thank you so much babe!" she said very happy as she kissed Negan on the mouth and hugged them both as Negan and Daryl stood there frozen. "I've missed you so much Judy, mommy was worried sick for you" she continued as she took the baby from Negan. 

The baby hummed and hugged her but continued to look at Negan like she didn't want to leave him. 

"Well come in" said Sherry "don't stand by the door" 

Daryl and Negan unfroze from their positions and walked in hesitantly. 

"Sit down" said Sherry happily "what would you like to drink? You want coffee, water...?"

"Erm some water would be ok" drawled Negan very confused. 

"Be right back" said she as she nodded. 

"You have good taste though" whispered Daryl as Negan looked at him like he would strangle him right here and now. 

"Here you go" said Sherry as she came back and offered them two glasses of water. Negan took a sip when he noticed the ring on Sherry's hand. It was Lucille's. Negan chocked with the water and started coughing a lot. 

"Are you ok babe?" asked Sherry worried. 

"Yes he will be fine" said Daryl as he patted Negan on the back. 

"What is wrong with you?" he whispered as Sherry turned her back. 

"She is wearing Lucille's wedding ring!" answered Negan breathlessly as Daryl's eyes widened at that and took notice that indeed she was wearing Negan's deceased wife's ring. 

"Thank you so much for bringing Judith back, I was very dizzy this morning that I forgot where she was. But thankfully she had her dad and uncle to protect her"

"Erm I'm not her dad" said Negan as he was still trying to breathe normally. 

"I know silly" said Sherry as she laughed "me and her dad have broken up and I'm raising her on my own"

"Hm" Negan cleared his throat "I wanted to talk to you about our wedding"

"It was great, wasn't it?" said Sherry as she hugged Judith and smiled at them "everything was perfect"

"Yeah I know, it's that..." drawled Negan very unsure of what to say. 

Suddenly the door opened with a bang and the baby started to cry. 

Sherry screamed as she tried to protect the baby. Negan and Daryl stood up looking at each other. 

Four policemen came in and behind them a guy with brown hair that was wearing a black eye patch. 

"Negan and Daryl Dixon you are under arrest" he told them "you have the right to remain silent"

"What?!" said Sherry as she looked at them with a sore expression. Negan and Daryl had no idea what was going on as they were handcuffed. 

"Don't worry ma'am" said the guy "your friends will give the explanations they need for their actions"

"Who are you?" she demanded as she tried to soothe her baby. 

He looked at her as he smirked.

"My name is Philip Blake" he answered as his men dragged Negan and Daryl out of the apartment.


	8. Chapter 8

"Remove the restraints" said Philip to the officers as Negan and Daryl were looking at him with hatred. 

"What are we doing here?" demanded Negan. 

"You stole a police car last night" he told them as he threw a folder at the table in front of them "and you left it in the middle of Las Vegas boulevard-"

"Who are you again?" intervened Daryl "see we didn't steal a police car and I find it fishy that you knew exactly where we were"

"Philip Blake or also known as the Governor" he said as he raised his eyebrow and glared at Daryl. 

"Governor of what thing?" said Negan as he chuckled. 

"It's just a title" he told him annoyed "now back to the subject. Where is your buddy? The third guy?"

"You think we are stupid enough to tell you?" asked Daryl "we are under arrest for no reason at all"

"Funny" said the Governor as he opened the folder "why the cameras show you then at 4 a.m. leaving the stolen police car in the middle of the boulevard?" he told them as he tossed them a picture that was of them. 

Negan looked at Daryl. Once again they didn't remember anything and he really didn't like that guy. They had to find a way to get out of there. 

"The judge can see you in three days" he told them. 

"In three days?!" demanded Daryl "tomorrow we have to go back to Los Angeles"

"You should have thought of that before breaking the law" said the Governor. 

"I want to make a phone call to my lawyer" jumped in Negan as he was determined to get out of there as soon as possible. 

"Me too" said Daryl. 

The Governor looked at them annoyed as he sighed. 

"Fine, you can have your phone call" he pulled out a pair of handcuffs and put the one end on Daryl's wrist and the other one on Negan's. "These are to not get any smart ideas to run away. Come on, the phone is outside"

Negan and Daryl were fumming but stood up together. The Governor gave them one last glare as he walked away to let them do the phone call. 

"What are we gonna do Negan?" Daryl told him urgently. 

"I have no idea" sighed Negan "I don't trust this guy"

"Pss" they heard someone saying behind them. 

They turned around and saw a kid around 16 looking at them behind his long brown hair. 

"You want to get out?" he said whispering. 

Daryl and Negan looked at each other very confused. How would this kid help them get out of there? 

"Yeah we do" said Daryl. 

"Come with me" he told them urgently. 

"How kid?" said Negan "isn't there a guard at this police station?"

"I put sleeping pills in his coffee" the kid said "if you don't want the Governor to come back and catch us, come with me now"

"Ok..." said Daryl although he wasn't sure if they should trust that kid or not. 

They walked downstairs fast and indeed there was a guard sleeping. The kid grabbed the handcuffs keys from him as fast as he could and unlocked Daryl and Negan. 

"Let's get the hell out of here" said Negan as he saw a bus approaching a stop. "Come on let's hurry to enter it, it goes to the center" he told then urgently. 

They run and last minute they managed to get on the bus. 

"That was close" said Daryl as he was out of breath. 

"Thank you...erm what's your name kid?" questioned Negan. 

The kid removed a string of hair from his face and looked at them. 

"I'm Carl" he said eventually. 

"... and what were you doing in the police station?" asked Daryl very confused of why a 16 year old kid would be helping them without knowing anything about them. 

Carl swallowed hard as he averted their eyes. 

"Let's just say I didn't have the best upbringings...my mum and my step father don't care about me"

"Why did you help us though?" asked Daryl. 

"You seemed innocent to me" sighed Carl "I hope you are not in fact murderers..." he drawled a bit scared after thinking about it. 

"Don't know about this one over here, but I'm not" smirked Negan "thank you for helping us kid, I'm Negan and this is my friend Daryl"


	9. Chapter 9

"Wow you had a very crazy night" said Carl as they told him what happened. Negan and Daryl had no idea why they would trust a random kid but somehow they did. They offered him to pay for his burger as they sat to a burger house to eat at last. They had been out for a couple hours and so many crazy things had happened already. 

"Yep" said Daryl as he ate a frie "our friend's wedding is tomorrow and he still hasn't shown any signs of life"

Negan sighed as he thought of Rick. All jokes aside he was starting to get very anxious. Rick wasn't the type to just disappear. He was very respectful of others and he cared a lot. He would never put them through all that willingly. Something must have happened to him and they had a very limited time frame to find him. If they didn't they would have to tell Michonne and all hell would break loose. 

"I can help if you want" offered Carl hesitantly. 

Negan looked him up and down and then at Daryl. 

"You did enough already kid, we wouldn't have escaped without your help but you should get back home. I'm sure your folks will be worried" he told him. 

"Nah they won't" said Carl as he shook his head disappointed that he couldn't tag along. 

"Why are you saying that?" asked Daryl "you seem like a very good kid. I am sure they love you"

"They don't, not even care in fact" he told him "my mother only loves her boyfriend, Shane, who is quite a violent person. She doesn't even notice me when I'm at home"

Daryl felt a pang of pain at that. He knew what having an abusive family was like. At least he had Merle that gave some damn about him, this kid didn't have anyone obviously. Negan and Rick were his buddies since Merle died, he had no idea where he would be without them and now that Rick had disappeared he felt like he would lose it if he died or something bad had happened to him. 

"I am sure it wouldn't hurt if you came with us" Daryl said eventually. 

"Daryl can I speak to you for a minute" said Negan as he stood up and motioned him to do the same. 

Daryl sighed at that but did as Negan told him. 

They walked some meters away and Negan looked at him as he frowned. 

"I know that you probably feel protective over the kid but we are already in big troubles. You really want to bring a kid into all this?" he questioned. 

"You heard yourself that his family is neglecting him" told him Daryl exasperated "don't see the harm to let him tag along for some more"

Negan sighed as he gave Daryl a hug and he hesitantly let him do so. 

"You know I care about you, right?" he asked. 

"Well you're an asshole most of the time but I bet you care a bit...-" drawled Daryl. 

"I do" he told him seriously. Daryl was like the brother he never had. He would do anything for him despite liking getting on his nerves regularly. "Fine we can keep the kid" he told him eventually. 

"Thank you" Daryl told him as he smiled but he was feeling emotional. Negan may liked being seen as this arrogant dude who didn't care but Daryl knew that he was secretly a softy. 

Negan and Daryl returned to their table and saw Carl looking at the table miserably. He snapped out of it as he saw them coming back and tried to act cool. 

"Everything ok?" he questioned. 

"Yeah kid" Negan smiled at him "you can come with us"

Carl was uplifted by that. 

"Great, thank you" he said as he smiled back at them.


	10. Chapter 10

Rick's phone was ringing again. 

"Shit" said Daryl as he saw Michonne's name as the caller "it's her again. Why they have to talk three times per day?"

"Who is it?" asked Carl curiously. 

"Rick's fiance" replied Negan as he took the phone from Daryl's hands "don't say anything" he said as he pressed the green button to answer. 

"Hey Michonne, it's Negan" he told her. 

"Hi Negan. Ermm why are you answering the phone instead of Rick? First Daryl and now you..."

"He is relaxing Michonne, we took his phone because he has to be relaxed for tomorrow. How can he do that if he talks to the phone all the time?" questioned Negan. 

"Well yeah, but taking his phone is a bit extreme..." she drawled. 

"I assure you that he is fine. Tomorrow you will have him again, it's just one night" he said as he tried to comfort her. 

"Ok, I guess you're right. I just had a bad feeling" she said hesitantly. 

"He is perfectly healthy, don't worry" Negan said frustrated of having to be lying. Michonne could be very persistent. 

"Alright then. I'll see you all tomorrow" she said eventually. 

"Yes of course" Negan told her and he ended the call. He gave the phone back to Daryl as he sighed. Daryl looked at him and he could see his worry despite not saying it out loud. They arrived to their hotel, they were in need of rest and see what they would do with the "tiger issue".

Outside of the hotel was a crew with a big crane and they were trying to remove something from up high. Many were looking at what the crew was doing. Negan saw a taxi driver who was watching and approached him. 

"What is this crew doing?" he asked him. 

"Some idiot nailed their mattress to one of the hotel's flag poles and they are trying to remove it" the taxi driver told him. 

"Guess who it would have been..." drawled Negan although he knew that most likely they did that as well. 

He left and walked to Daryl and Carl that were looking up there. 

"Let's go to our room" he whispered to them as he was eager to get out of there when they were trying to fix their mess. 

"I am scared Negan" said Daryl as he bit his lip "how are we gonna get it out?"

"You weren't scared when you were taking it" said Negan as he rolled his eyes. "Carl do you have anymore of these sleeping pills?" he questioned. 

"I do" replied Carl "I'm good with wild animals, maybe I could handle it"

"No way" said Daryl as he shook his head "what if it kills you?"

"Trust me I have a way" replied Carl as they entered the room. 

The tiger was still locked up in the bathroom. They ordered a steak to be brought to their room and when it arrived they placed five sleeping pills inside. 

"Will they be enough??" questioned Daryl. 

"How could I know Daryl?" said Negan exasperated "I never had to sedate a tiger!"

"They should be enough" intervened Carl as he grabbed the plate from the table. 

"What are you doing kid?" asked Negan worried. The least they wanted was for the kid to get hurt. 

"She has to eat it" said Carl as he unlocked the bathroom's door. 

Shiva walked out of the bathroom waving her tail aggressively as she growled at Negan and Daryl. 

"Hey you are safe" told her Carl in a calm tone. 

Daryl got ready to jump in the way to save him if needed. 

Shiva looked at Carl in the eyes and approached him as she purred happily and poked him with her head in order to pet her. 

"She likes me I think" Carl said with a smile as he put the plate in front of her. Shiva purred again and began eating. 

Five minutes later she was sleeping peacefully at the floor.


	11. Chapter 11

_14 hours before the wedding_

"A guy saw us carrying the tiger with a sheet wrapped around it" groaned Daryl as they put Shiva at the back of the car "he could may as well thought that it was a dead person!"

Negan sighed exasperated. A guy did see them but better than more people seeing them. 

"Maybe you'll think about that next time you steal a damn tiger" he told him in annoyance. 

Carl was squeezed between them looking from one to the other. 

Negan was driving to Ezekiel's villa and he was trying to hurry up. 

Suddenly they heard a growl from behind them. 

"Tell me I imagined that" said Daryl as he froze. 

Negan froze as well and he was driving. Carl looked behind and Shiva was wide awake. 

"Aghhhhhhh!!!!" yelled Daryl as he tried to hide behind Carl who was equally afraid. "Negan do something!!!"

"What do you want me to do Daryl?!" Negan told him as he was risking them to collide with another car. 

Shiva was still growling. 

How the hell had she woken up, thought Negan. They were very likely to get arrested again and he didn't know who would save them this time. Negan spinned and got to the side of the road. 

He stopped abruptly.

"Get the hell out now!" he told them urgently as he , Daryl and Carl almost jumped out of the car. 

Shiva kept growling looking annoyed that they had disturbed her and started biting the seat. 

Negan, Daryl and Carl looked at her terrified. 

\---

"I'm tired" said Daryl as he let out a grunt. 

Negan shot him a murderous glare. 

"Shut up and keep pushing. Do you hear Carl complaining or me?" he asked as he raised his eyebrows. 

"Only for Carl I care" Daryl shot him back "for you, I don't"

"If I come over there-" Negan threatened. 

"Are you married ?" questioned Carl. 

"No!" Negan and Daryl answered at the same time. 

Negan looked at him and scoffed. "I would rather die than be with him for the rest of my life"

Daryl looked at him angrily. 

"At least I didn't get married to a total stranger!" 

Negan grunted in response. Sherry still had Lucille's ring. 

They had been pushing the car for the rest of the way to Ezekiel's villa as Shiva was still eating the seat inside. 

Soon they were all out of breath. They managed with a lot of effort to push the car outside of the villa and Daryl almost passed out at the pavement. Not only they had not found Rick yet, they were doing the most crazy things like delivering a tiger back to her owner. 

Negan, Daryl and Carl almost crawled to the Villa's entrance and rang the bell. Ezekiel opened the door with a drink in his right hand. 

They were all sweaty and he was sipping his drink in peace. 

"You are late" he told them as both Negan and Daryl let out a groan. 

"We had to push the last mile in order to bring the tiger back" said Daryl exasperated "are you kidding us?"

Ezekiel examined them and thought to not be more hard on them. 

"Come on in. I want to show you something" he told them eventually. 

"Keep the tiger away from us" threatened Negan, as they walked inside and Ezekiel shot a worried look at his baby girl, who was still in the car.


	12. Chapter 12

"Welcome to my Kingdom" Ezekiel told them and it really was a kingdom. The house was huge and it had a tropical feel to it. Carl looked impressed as they passed by a big peacock. Ezekiel's love for animals was evident everywhere around them as there were more animals walking in the house than only the tiger. Thankfully nothing as dangerous. 

"A drink?" asked Ezekiel as they got to his living room. 

"Actually I would lik-" started Daryl as he eyed Ezekiel's huge variety of liquors but Negan intervened. 

"We are ok" he said as Daryl shot him an annoyed glare. 

"You are not drinking on my watch again" Negan whispered to him and Daryl got moody. He didn't like when Negan was bossing him around. 

"What did you want to show us because we are very busy" said Negan impatiently. They had to continue the search for Rick even if that meant that they wouldn't sleep at all. If tomorrow came and Rick was not found, sleep would be the least of their problems. 

"Ok" Ezekiel told him as he grabbed a remote control and pointed it at the tv. A black and white screen appeared. It was from Ezekiel's villa apparently. 

Daryl and Carl dropped themselves to the couch as Negan stayed standing. 

There was nothing unusual showing when suddenly Daryl saw himself and Rick. They looked already beaten up but they were laughing and didn't seem to care about a thing. Daryl was leading Shiva by a leash outside of Ezekiel's gates without a care if she would attack them or not. Rick almost fell with his face to the ground but he held on last minute and they both laughed once again. 

A police car was behind the gates and Negan was driving. Daryl opened the back door for the tiger and it got in. Daryl threw himself on Rick giving him a big hug. They all got in the car and drove away. Daryl's face was red from his embarrassment. Thankfully he didn't remember any of this but it was still embarrassing to see it on tape. 

"This is from the cameras" Ezekiel told them. 

"At least you weren't afraid last night..." drawled Carl unsure. 

"Great" said Negan sarcastically "thanks for showing us. We are leaving now" 

Ezekiel walked towards him and looked him intensely. 

"You have been through something painful in your life" Ezekiel said "Something that broke your heart"

Negan just stared at him. Maybe for Lucille's death he was talking about. Was this guy a medium after all? 

"I'm ok actually" Negan told him as he motioned for Daryl to stand up. 

Daryl gave him a glare as well ,but complied. 

"Ermm sorry for taking your tiger..." drawled Daryl hesitantly. 

"At least you brought her back" said Ezekiel as he sipped from his drink. 

"Yeah..." mumbled Daryl. 

"It was good meeting you but we have to go" said Negan impatiently as he pushed Daryl and Carl out of the house. 

Ezekiel looked at them walking away as Shiva approached him and wanted him to pat her head. 

"Aw poor girl" said Ezekiel in sympathy "let's go inside so you can rest"


	13. Chapter 13

"Our time is running out" sobbed Daryl, as he looked outside of the car which was half destroyed by Shiva. 

Negan glared at him and he really wanted to make a sarcastic comment but he couldn't when the situation was that serious. Rick was missing and it was his fault mostly. He was the one to bring them to Las Vegas. Despite wanting them to have fun , he still felt responsible for Rick's disappearance. Tomorrow was supposed to be the happiest day of his life. He had found the woman he was in love with. What would they be saying to Michonne now? 

"Are you sure you looked everywhere he could be?" questioned Carl trying to help out. 

"The issue is that we don't remember anything from last night" said Negan as he let out a sigh "He would have found a way to call us by now if he was ok..." 

Rick had not shown signs of life all day. Someone should have found him by now and contacting them to know that he was ok. But Rick was still missing and there seemed no prospects in finding him. At least in time for their flight back tomorrow morning. 

Daryl looked at Negan and he could see his worry as well. Despite their bickering he did care for Rick and him. If something bad had happened to Rick, Daryl didn't know how they would continue their lives. These guys were everything to him, if they weren't there his life was pointless like it had been before meeting them. This may was fun and games at first ,but now the situation was very serious. It was way worse that Michonne was clueless also. She would be mad and have every right to be. 

Suddenly a phone started ringing. Daryl and Negan exchanged worried glares. He checked out which phone was ringing and it was Rick's but the caller didn't show. It was from an unknown number. 

Daryl bit his lip very worried and answered the phone. 

"Yes?" he asked. 

"Put the phone on speaker" told him a male voice. 

"Who are you?" questioned Daryl confused. 

"Put the phone on speaker now. Don't make me repeat it" the voice demanded. 

Daryl hesitantly pressed the speaker button on. 

"I'm Gareth. Remember me?" he questioned menacingly. 

"Son of a bit-" started Negan letting out a groan "what the hell do you want again?"

"Just calling to say that I keep your friend as hostage" he told them in a pleasant, yet threatening tone. 

Negan, Daryl and Carl looked at each other in shock. Could he really have taken Rick? 

"I want the 10.000 dollars you took from me last night or your buddy is gonna die"

"We don't have your money!" Daryl spat out "This is crazy, demanding such an amount of money" 

"Find them, don't care" Gareth told them "Your friend's life has to be worth it"

"What part of: We Don't Have Them, didn't you get?" questioned Negan in anger. 

"We won't negotiate it. The money or your friend gets killed. It would be a shame... I'm texting you the address you'll come to so we can exchange" 

With that he hang up on them. 

"Do you think he really has him?" Carl asked concerned. 

"Don't know..." drawled Daryl unsure as Rick's phone showed he had a new message. It was the address. 

"We can't risk it" said Negan , making a decision. 

"Yeah" said Daryl sarcastically "Do you have 10.000 dollars laying around?"

Negan thought about it. Of course they didn't. It was a big amount of money. Perhaps... 

"We are gonna win them" he told them. 

"Erm how?" Carl asked confused. 

"By playing at the casino" Negan said and Daryl let out a groan. "Excellent" idea and very easy to win 10.000 dollars. 

"Of all your ideas, this is the stupidest" Daryl told him. 

"Have some faith in old Negan" he answered with a smirk. He didn't know how, but he was gonna make it. 

He owed it to Rick.


	14. Chapter 14

Daryl, Negan and Carl showered and got dressed in tuxedos since there was no chance they would let them pass with the clothes they've been through all that with and being dirty. They had to appear serious in order to win. They got to the casino's entrance when a blonde man stopped them. His name was Dwight apparently. 

"Sir the casino is only for 21 year olds and up" as he looked at Carl pointedly. 

"I am 21" said Carl defiantly when he was only 16.

"U-huh and I'm Zeus" Dwight mocked him. 

"Ermm yeah look er Dwight" Negan started "you see this is my son and he is not very well because we lost his mother lately..." 

"I see him just fine" answered Dwight as he crossed his arms. 

"Looks can be deceiving..." drawled Negan as he hugged Carl like a caring father and Daryl shot him a glare. "He is a very emotional kid, don't want to leave him alone"

"But you want to play at the casino?" Dwight questioned suspiciously. 

"Yes, for my son to have a better future" said Negan emotionally "Look ,I'll not let him play of course. He is gonna sit very quietly"

"True" Daryl intervened "there is no kid more quiet than our Carl"

Dwight looked at the three of them. 

"Fine..." he said exasperated "you can pass"

Negan smirked at him. 

"You're a true "Savior" he told him as he grinned. 

"U-huh" said Dwight as he watched them walk away. 

\---

"Great we're in" said Negan as he let out a sigh of relief. 

"Baby?" asked someone behind them as the three of them turned around to see who it was "oh my God Negan ,I was so worried" said Sherry as she hugged them tightly. She was wearing a red dress looking admittedly very stunning. 

"What happened to you? I was so worried when you got arrested" she questioned. 

Negan and Daryl were surprised to see her but answered the question. 

"Don't worry, it was all one big misunderstanding after all" said Daryl as he didn't want to say what really happened. 

"Where is Judith?" Negan asked her, he hoped she didn't leave her with a stranger again. 

"One good friend is looking after her" said Sherry "don't worry I know where she is this time. It is an opportunity to spend some time together baby, we got married and we were almost at all together..." Sherry said disappointed. 

Negan wanted to tell her that their marriage wasn't valid and that he wanted the ring back but then again she looked very happy to be "married" to him that he couldn't find the right words to say. Plus Judith was an adorable baby. 

"Negan is gonna play poker" said Daryl as he got Negan's awkwardness. "We can go all together"

"Great" said Sherry excitedly "go beat them babe!" she said as she hugged him again. 

"Yeah..." drawled Negan unsure as Carl gave him a comforting pat. 

"Just so you know ,you are the greatest fake dad I could have ever had. Rick is lucky to have you as his friend" Carl whispered to him. 

Negan let out a chuckle. 

"Thanks kid" he told him.


	15. Chapter 15

Negan checked the Poker tables and the guys who were playing didn't look the wealthy kind ,so they wouldn't do. 

Blackjack on the other hand... Negan decided to not play poker and go to Blackjack instead. 

"Have you played Blackjack again?" Daryl questioned. 

"Once or twice but I'm gona make it, if I focus..." he told him pointedly. 

Negan checked those who were already playing and calculated in his mind how he could win. 

"I'll join" he said to the dealer who smiled at him and motioned him to sit down. 

Negan pulled out 2.000 dollars and gave them to the dealer. 

"Here are your marks sir" he told Negan as he offered them to him. 

Negan's mind was working fast. The dealer was a hard opponent and he couldn't risk losing since he didn't have more money right now to gamble. 

Daryl was biting his lip anxiously as Negan was making some risky moves. Sherry and Carl were trying to encourage Negan. 

One hour of very risky moves later Negan managed to win 12.000 dollars, he got back his own as well. 

"Yeah babe!" said Sherry excitedly "woohoo!"

Daryl sighed in relief as they gave Negan the money. He was almost certain that he would lose but thankfully he managed it. 

"Congratulations Negan!" told him Carl with a bright smile. 

"Thank you Carl" Negan smiled back at him and turned to look Daryl. 

"You were ok..." Daryl said ,trying to act indifferent. 

"Just ok?" asked Negan disappointed. He had sweat from trying to win. Had made a lot of effort. 

Daryl looked at him with a poker face until Negan decided to let it drop. 

"Come here asshole" Daryl said as he gave him a big hug "You did great"

Negan smiled to himself and hugged him as well. 

"Thanks, you prick" he said emotionally. 

"Let's go save Rick now" Daryl told them as Carl and Negan nodded. 

"Sherry we have to go ,but we will talk" Negan told her. They needed to sort things out before they left. He had to be straight forward with her. 

"Ok babe" she told him as she kissed his cheek "I have to go to Judith as well. Be safe!" she told them. 

\---

_6 hours before the wedding_

Negan was feeling the tiredeness getting to him as they had done so many things in one day and it was very late at night now. 

Daryl found the address that Gareth had sent him on Google and it turned out that it was an abandoned storehouse at the suburbs of the city. Negan drove them and he got a creepy feel when he saw the place. Combined with the darkness and the low lighting, it was like something out of a horror movie. 

"Carl ,stay in the car" said Negan as he didn't trust this Gareth guy. He needed Carl to be safe. 

"Ok..." Carl drawled unsure "be careful"

Daryl bit his lip and got out of the car as well. 

"I'm scared Negan" he told him frightened as Negan had the bag with the money. 

Negan sighed and motioned him to be quiet. Daryl let him take the lead and walked cautiously behind him. 

In front of the storehouse there was Gareth waiting for them with his car by his side and some meters behind him there was a silhouette tied up to a chair which they couldn't make out so much due to the darkness. 

"Well, well" drawled Gareth menacingly "You came after all and I see you brought my money"

"We did" snapped Negan "we want Rick back"

"He is right here" he said showing them the tied up silhouette "a bit roughed up but nothing too serious"

"You son of bitch!" growled Daryl when he heard that he had hurt Rick. 

"Hand over the money now and he is all yours" Gareth told them. 

Negan looked at him with anger but there was no other choice. 

He approached him carefully and handed over the bag. Gareth opened it and saw the money as a smile spread to his face. 

"You are very kind" he mocked them "he is all yours now"

Negan and Daryl ran to the tied up silhouette as fast as they could. Who knows what he did to Rick all this time. 

Daryl pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight to see better. 

"We are here Rick!" he said trying to comfort his friend but when he pointed the flashlight to him, instead of Rick's face he saw a plastic, full sized ,doll smiling at him. 

"Aghhh!" Daryl let out scared. This wasn't Rick, it was just an inanimate doll. 

"Adios, you suckers" Gareth told them from his car's window as he laughed and speeded away.

"You-!" started Negan but it was too late. Gareth had gotten away. 

Daryl looked at the smiling doll like it would turn to Rick somehow. 

Negan kicked the doll down from his anger. 

"Do you think he has him somewhere else?" questioned Daryl, devastated that this wasn't Rick. 

"No" Negan shook his head "He never really had him. Just wanted the 10.000 dollars back"

Which begged the question ,where was the real Rick? Daryl dropped himself next to the plastic doll as he sobbed. 

The chances of finding his friend were disappearing with every passing moment.


	16. Chapter 16

The ride back to their hotel was very heavy. Noone was in the mood to talk. Daryl felt like the bright lights of Vegas were mocking him. They felt too happy for what they were going through. That was it. The jokes were over. Anything could have happened to Rick. They had tried so hard only to get fooled by Gareth. 

Negan was moody as well. He had really believed that Gareth had kidnapped Rick somehow. Because only kidnapped he wouldn't be able to tell them that he was ok to not be worried sick for him. In some hours his wedding was dued and he was missing. He had from Lucille's death to feel this guilty over something but he definitely was now. Rick could may as well be dead. He drove back to the hotel with dread. They would sleep a bit and call Michonne in the morning. Police should take over now. They had done everything they could, but it wasn't enough. 

They got to their room which had been cleaned from the mess they had made and was spotless again. Negan remembered when Rick had dropped himself to the couch when they had arrived, it felt like a long time had passed since then when it really was one day only. He missed him terribly though. Daryl put Carl to sleep. He should return to his family again tomorrow. They had made the kid suffer alongside them. Their adventure would be ending in a couple of hours. Negan was not used losing, but that's exactly what had happened. Michonne would most likely never want to see them again after what they had done. 

Daryl approached him and sat next to him at the couch. 

"Carl slept" he informed him "he was very tired"

"Yeah..." drawled Negan as he sipped from his glass of water "you should too"

"Don't know if I can Negan" Daryl said miserably "we messed up so much. He didn't deserve that to happen, he just...didn't"

Negan sighed. 

"No, he didn't. Wish I hadn't pressured him. Should have left him to his home and go out instead. We would have fun and he wouldn't have gone missing..." Negan said with regret. 

"It happened now" Daryl told him as he gave him a light pat "you couldn't have known"

"No, but still feel responsible" Negan said as he felt his eyes stinging. 

"We will find him" sighed Daryl "no matter what. We are not leaving Las Vegas without him" 

Negan gave him a hug as some tears rolled down his cheeks. 

"We will" he agreed as they both cried. No matter how much they had bickered, they needed each other right now. 

Daryl said to him a half hearted "good night" although in two hours the sun would rise. 

Negan looked out of the window and felt lost. Where are you Rick, he thought desperately. 

\---

Negan was tossing and turning in his bed. 

"Rick didn't want to come in the first place!" Daryl spat at him "should have listened to him, instead of you and your stupid ideas"

"Patient's name Rick Grimes, 2:45 a.m. arrival , minor concussion and some bruising..." 

Negan continued tossing and turning more violently as he was dreaming. 

"Some idiot nailed their mattress to one of the hotel's flag poles and they are trying to remove it" 

Negan opened his eyes feeling his heart beating fast. He looked outside and the sky was pink as it was starting to become day again. His mind was thinking very fast. He thought of the crane outside of the hotel and what the taxi driver had told him. 

How did the mattress end up there? It was too high up. 

Think Negan, think. 

What if it was sign? That Rick had sent them? 

Perhaps Rick never actually left from the hotel. He just may woke up somewhere else within the hotel. 

Negan sat up in a hurry and got to Daryl's room. 

"Daryl! Daryl!" he told him in a hurry. 

"Hmm it's too early Negan..." Daryl told him sleepily. 

"I think I know where Rick is!" Negan said to him urgently. 

"What?!" asked Daryl ,as he woke up instantly. 

"Yes, I have a theory where he may be and it has been near us the whole time! We were just looking further" Negan said. He really wished he was right. 

"Where?" asked Daryl as he sat up.


	17. Chapter 17

"THE ROOF GARDEN IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED DUE TO SAFETY REASONS"

Negan tried to open the door and it was locked. This had to be it. Rick must have gotten stuck to the roof garden. 

He exchanged a worried glare with Daryl. 

"To the hotel's reception!" he told him as they ran to the elevators. 

They got to the ground floor and they both ran to the receptionist who looked at them weird as they were still with their pyjamas on. 

"How can I help you?" asked the receptionist. 

"We think that our friend got stuck to the roof garden" said Negan urgently "Please ,we really have to check if he's there"

The receptionist's eyes widened but she complied and one other person offered to open the door for them. 

They hurried back to the roof garden's floor as the person opened up for them. 

Daryl and Negan hurried to the open space and looked around. Everything was quiet. 

"Rick! Rick!" they yelled out as they split up to search. 

Negan's eyes wandered around but Rick was nowhere. Could he have been wrong? 

Daryl kept looking when suddenly Negan heard him calling. 

"Negan! He is here!" he shouted at him. 

Rick was laying at the inside of the outdoor bar of the roof garden, where they were making the drinks and he had covered himself with a flag. 

Negan ran by Daryl's side and looked at Rick. His face was red from the sun and he had covered himself with the flag to try and not get cold during night time. 

Daryl shook him from the arm with worry. 

"Rick can you hear us?" he asked. 

Rick wasn't answering at first but he blinked his eyes after awhile. 

"Hey buddy" said Negan as he smiled at him. 

Rick let out a tired sigh of relief when he saw them. 

"I got stuck to the roof garden" he said to them as he tried to sit up "I woke up at noon and found out that they had locked the door. You had brought me here as a joke with my mattress. They locked the door though because the roof garden works only at night" Rick told them tiredly "I've been screaming but they couldn't hear me. I thought to nail the mattress to the flag pole in case they understood that someone was up here. But they didn't. Not only that but due to the mattress they didn't open the roof garden for the night..."

"Oh my God Rick" said Daryl as he couldn't believe this whole thing that had happened. It was like out of a movie or something. 

Rick looked at Negan with sudden anger. 

"I'm gonna kill you, not today, not tomorrow, but I will" he told him as he eyed him angrily. 

Negan had the decency to look abashed. 

"Not today because you're getting married and not tomorrow because it will be your first day married..." he drawled.

"We kill him from next week" said Daryl as he tried to comfort him "come on buddy. You need to look handsome for your wedding" he told him as he and Negan helped him up. 

They got him to their room and laid him to the couch. Rick other than tired, sore from the beating up at the casino and having a redness to his face, was ok and that's what mattered in the end. 

Carl woke up and his eyes widened as he saw Rick. 

"This is your friend?" he asked Negan. 

"Yeah kid, we found him" told him Negan with a smirk. 

Rick looked up and saw Carl. 

"Erm who's the kid?" he asked confused. 

"We need to catch you up, buddy" said Daryl as he patted his arm comfortingly.

\---

Negan took Carl to drive him back to his home as Daryl got their things ready and looked after Rick. 

Carl was staring out of the window being unusually quiet. 

"Hey what's wrong kid?" Negan asked him as he got out of the car and they walked to the door of Carl's home. 

Carl sighed as he looked at him. 

"I don't want to stay here again. They don't care about me..." he told him and he was on the verge of crying. 

"But they are your family Carl. They will miss you" he told him as he got to eye level with him. 

"No, they don't" Carl said bitterly. 

Negan didn't know what to tell him. Carl should stay with his mother though. They couldn't just take him. 

He got up to his feet and rang the doorbell. 

"Lori! Open up!" he heard a man shouting from inside. 

"Why don't you do it Shane?!" a woman yelled back as she complied and opened the door. 

"Carl!" she demanded "where have you been?"

"He was with me ma'am" Negan intervened. 

"Who are you?" she asked. 

"His name is Negan" told her Carl defensively "I was with him and his friend Daryl. And I want to go back with them!" he said, making up his mind. 

"What?!" asked Lori and Negan in unison. 

"I'm not happy here mom. You love Shane while I don't. They took better care of me in a day than you both did in years" Carl said to her. 

"Kid..." started Negan as he eyed Lori's shocked expression. 

"It's the truth Negan" said Carl exasperated. 

"Do you really want that?" asked Lori.

"Yes mom" Carl told her "it's not that I don't love you but I'm miserable here"

Lori looked at them both. 

"Would you be willing to take care of him?" Lori asked Negan, confused of why a stranger would do something like that and grow up Carl. 

Negan glared at Carl and saw his pleading expression. 

Hell, he really liked the kid. He knew that Daryl liked him too and it was hard to say goodbye. With them Carl could have a better life. 

"Yes ma'am, actually I would. I may never had kids of my own, but I'll take care of him as my own" he told her seriously. 

Carl eyed him happily that he had agreed. 

"Ok then..." drawled Lori unsure. 

"I will come to visit mom" said Carl "this isn't a permanent goodbye" he told her as he gave Lori a hug. 

She hugged him back. 

"Be careful Carl" she said to him emotionally as Shane was calling her again from upstairs. 

Lori closed the door and Negan gave Carl a hug as well. 

"Now you will be the greatest real-adopted father I could have ever had" said Carl emotionally. 

"I will try my best kid" told him Negan as he made a promise both to Carl and himself. 

Who could have told him that a trip to Las Vegas would lead him to meet two great kids and adopt the one?

They walked with Carl back to the car and he felt excited for the future after a very long time.


	18. Chapter 18

Daryl was collecting their wedding suits from their suitcases when he suddenly saw a black bag hidden in the closet. He raised his eyebrows as he didn't remember bringing that with them. His eyes widened as he saw what was inside. The 10.000 dollars. He couldn't believe that they've been through all that when they were in their apartment. Daryl sighed frustrated. This trip had been more tiresome than relaxing. 

"I don't think that we will catch our flight in time" said Negan as he drove faster back to the hotel. 

"How will we go back though?" asked Carl as they had to bring Rick back in time for his wedding. 

"Don't know..." Negan sighed. 

He was close to the hotel when he saw Sherry and Judith strolling around. Had almost forgot what he had to do. He parked the car to the side of the road. 

"Could you wait here for a bit?" asked Negan as he showed him Sherry. 

"Sure, I'm waiting" answered Carl. 

Negan got out and crossed the road to get to them. 

"Hey" he said to Sherry. 

"Hi!" Sherry told him excitedly "look who's here Judith" she said as Judith chuckled happily.

"She's happy to see you again" Sherry told him as she handed her to him. 

"Me too" said Negan. She really was an adorable baby and they had bonded with this adventure they went through. 

"Look Sherry I-" Negan told her as he couldn't find the correct words. 

"You want us to break up, I know" said Sherry as she looked at him with a sad smile "this is yours" she told him as she removed the ring from her finger. 

"I-how did you know?" Negan questioned as he took the ring back. 

"Well you made it quite obvious, plus Gabriel called me. You've talked to me about Lucille after our ceremony. You didn't remember the next day. But you had been crying and told me about your wedding and how she was. I realized that I could never be her for you"

"I don't want you too..." drawled Negan unsure "but you're not her either"

"I know and it's ok" Sherry told him "the fact that you cared about Judith and brought her back safe was enough for me"

"We will be returning to Los Angeles today for Rick's wedding" said Negan hesitantly "but I really want to keep in touch and to be seeing each other" he told her and he meant it. 

"Sure" said Sherry with a smile "I would like that a lot. Plus Judith wants her "dad" and "uncle" 

"We loved this baby a lot too" Negan said with a small chuckle as he took Judith in his arms "we are not gonna get lost though. We can come see you and you too in Los Angeles"

"Exactly" answered Sherry as she took Judith back "go now Negan, you have a wedding to go to!" she told him as she gave him a push towards his car. 

"Bye Sherry" Negan told her as he waved them both goodbye. 

\---

_1 hour and 30 minutes before the wedding_

"Isn't there another flight to Los Angeles?" Daryl asked on the phone as they had officially lost their flight and there wasn't another one soon enough. 

"Fine, fine, I understand" he told to the phone in annoyance. They were waiting for Negan outside of the hotel and Rick was still feeling a bit unwell. 

"What am I gonna do?" Rick sobbed. He was not gonna make it back in time. 

"We will find the way" said Daryl as he tried to comfort him. Just in time Negan appeared with the car and to Daryl's surprise Carl was still with him. 

"Negan, why didn't you drop Carl to his home?" Daryl demanded to know. 

"Because he will be coming to Los Angeles with us. Talked to his mother" Negan told him as Daryl's eyes widened. 

"Yes we agreed everything" said Carl and Daryl could see his happiness. So he opted to not say something. If that's what they both wanted. Plus he really cared about the kid as much as Negan. 

"We have big problem on how we will return" Daryl told them. 

"What about that?" asked Carl as he showed them a store called "CRM helicopter rides : Trips to the unknown"

Negan and Daryl looked at each other. Maybe they could get them home. 

They got to the store fast and saw a young woman sitting behind a desk. 

"Hi-erm we would like a helicopter ride" said Negan. 

"Where exactly?" asked she "we have different rides to see parts of Las Vegas from up high"

"We know that it will sound very weird but our friend is getting married in something more than an hour and we lost our flight back home- could you take us to Los Angeles?"

Her eyes widened at that. 

"Ermm no-we are only in Las Vegas" she said unsure. 

"Would that be enough?" said Daryl as he pulled out Gareth's money. 

"Where did you-" started Negan. 

"Don't ask" Daryl intervened "would that be enough for you to take us there?" 

\---

"You are going home buddy" said Daryl as he and Negan supported him and got him to the black helicopter. 

"But ho-" Rick asked looking around. 

"All that matter is that you are going to your wedding. Don't question it right now, we will explain later" Daryl told him as they strapped in and the helicopter started taking height.


End file.
